Prostitution and Beyond is an edited volume that discusses a spectrum of issues that are pertinent to sex workers in India. These issues have been dealt with on various research platforms before. By collectively presenting these diverse research conclusions, this volume explores the broader interconnectivity of issues that affect women in prostitution. Its objective is to reach a wider audience consisting of both women who are initiated, and those as yet uninitiated into prostitution. This volume takes on the responsibility of countering the negativity that has come to be indelibly associated with any mention of sex workers. This is reflected in the construction of the sections and the choice of papers, group discussions, interviews and commentaries included in this volume. Throughout its four sections of feminist discourse, ethnographic studies, socio-economic legal-health frameworks and cultural reflections, this book draws on the experiences of academicians, activists, researchers and scholars with varied backgrounds.
Author(s): Rohini Sahni
Publisher: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 370
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Introduction......Page 14
Immorality, hurt or choice......Page 22
Women’s movements in India......Page 41
Elusive choice and agency......Page 55
Different issues/different voices......Page 74
Ritualized prostitution......Page 102
Ethnographic study of community-based sex work among Nats......Page 119
Male sex work (MSW)......Page 127
Ethnographic profile of female sex workers of Dharwad, Karnataka
......Page 145
The invisibles......Page 157
Markets, histories and grass-root evidences......Page 170
Surfacing voices from the underground......Page 196
The legal framework of prostitution in India......Page 208
Legal interpretations of prostitution......Page 222
(Mis)reading through the lines......Page 226
Ground realities of the legal framework......Page 230
Contesting legal positions on prostitution from a human rights perspective......Page 233
Female sex workers and the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India......Page 240
In the interest of business and health......Page 262
There is more to health than AIDS......Page 269
The veshyā, the ganika and the tawaif......Page 280
What does a language have to say?......Page 302
Modern theatre as epitome of middle class civilized culture......Page 317
Producing the spectacle of Kamathipura......Page 337
About the Editors and Contributors......Page 354
Index......Page 360
